This invention relates to new forms of ammunition for small arms like rifles, shotguns and handguns. Conventional cartridges typically comprise a cylindrical case of metal, pasteboard or plastic for holding primer means, powder and the necessary propellant medium with wad and shot, a bulbous bullet, or a projectile secured in the end of the cartridge case. By detonating the primer, the powder is ignited causing gas pressure from the burned powder to separate the bullet or projectile from the cartridge.
In the design of ammunition for rifles, shotguns and pistols, numerous trade-off with the accuracy of the projectile, mass of the projectile, muzzle velocity of the projectile and recoil of the firearm must be made. With rifle ammunition, accuracy and range are generally fixed requirements, and are accomplished by use of relatively long barrels. Muzzle velocity and air resistance control and limit bullet range. Gravity commences to act on the bullet as it leaves the muzzle. Recoil on the user depends upon the mass of the gun and projectile, as well as the propellant or powder charge, and the use of recoiling devices which dissipate some of the reaction forces. The firing of a single shot with all rifle parts stationary as the bullet leaves the muzzle permits a higher degree of pinpoint accuracy than handguns or fully automatic weapons normally achieve.
With the shotgun, a cluster of small lead spheres or shot is directed toward small or fast-moving targets with hit probability depending not so much on aiming accuracy, but upon the expanded area of coverage achieved by the divergent pattern of the shot. There is no attempt in the design of shotgun shells to achieve a controlled pattern in the distribution area of the shot, except by variation of the barrel choke. A severe limitation in shotguns is the fact that the shot scatters very widely apart as it proceeds toward the target, whereby only 5 percent or less of the total mass hits the target. Even 50 feet from the shooter, the shot is no longer lethal, but merely peppers the target harmlessly. Alternatively, single slug projectiles have been designed for shotguns where targets are too large to be affected by scattered shot. Such projectiles are typically larger than rifle slugs but have much less range or accuracy.
Conventional handguns or pistols are typically very limited in their accuracy and range. Gun recoil, projectile mass, and muzzle velocity trade-offs are involved in ammunition designed for handguns. For example, the standard 0.45 caliber pistol fires a conventional ballistic projectile weighing 234 grains at a muzzle velocity of 825 ft/sec. The recoil characteristics of this weapon are notoriously well-known, and it is fired with accuracy only by highly skilled and trained shooters. Personal defense weapons such as pistols and other small arms weapons involve a compromise between bullet size and weight, launch velocity, and projectile velocity decay rate. These small arms are naturally less cumbersome than either a rifle or a shotgun, but accuracy and range are sacrificed and they lack the hit capabilities of both. Handguns are accurate weapons in the hands of trained personnel, however, it has been shown that the average trained user is not accurate, particularly under stress. Moreover, in the case of police or military use, if a high mass, low velocity handgun projectile impacts the target, insufficient shock-power may result so that even though wounded, a human target can return the "fire" and continue to constitute a combat threat. Where low mass projectiles are used because of the recoil problem, such as shot, pellets or bee-bees, the pistol lacks shock-power.
Modern small caliber firearms, as discussed above, have many shortcomings. The rifle is accurate but cumbersome and unwieldy. The shotgun has minimal range but is dangerous if fired with broadly scattering shot, has poor shock-power, and is heavy to carry. The pistol or hand weapon has poor accuracy and poor range, and generally inferior shock-power when compared with the rifle or shotgun slug, but are much more convenient for wearing on the person when not in use.
The invention in this case overcomes some of the above shortcomings. It is a complete departure from my earlier filed cases dealing with ring airfoil munitions; i.e., Ser. No. 105,751 filed 6 Jan. 1971 and now abandoned, and Ser. No. 272,252, a continuation-in-part filed 11 July 1972, and to issue as U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,383 on 15 Apr. 1975.